Gibson, McTavish Lead Ducks to Season-Opening Win

Mason McTavish scored his first career NHL goal and John Gibson made 33 saves as the Ducks earned a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets in tonight's season opener at Honda Center.
NHL GAMECENTER | PHOTO GALLERY

With his first career tally, McTavish became the youngest goal scorer in Ducks history (18 years, 256 days), surpassing Oleg Tverdovsky in 1994 (18 years, 259 days).
"I couldn't have dreamed it any better, to be honest," McTavish said. "With the big win and the goal, it's definitely one I'll never forget."
Kevin Shattenkirk, Adam Henrique and Rickard Rakell also scored in Anaheim's season-opening win. The Ducks have won three consecutive home openers at Honda Center.
Anaheim's special teams units led the way, killing all five Winnipeg power-plays (5-5) and scoring twice with the man advantage (2-5).
"I thought our kill did a great job," said Henrique. "Blocking shots was a big thing we talked about and we had a lot tonight. With that and [Gibson], it was big for us tonight."
McTavish and Bo Groulx each made their NHL debuts in Anaheim's win. Groulx played on a line with Derek Grant and Nic Deslauriers, skating in 14:30 of ice time, including 2:45 on the penalty kill.
Anaheim opened the scoring six minutes into the first period on a sharp angle shot by Shattenkirk. The veteran defenseman corralled the puck along the right side wall, skating towards the goal line while looking for a shooting lane. Shattenkirk eventually found a window he liked, lofting a shot just inside the far post for the Ducks' first goal of the 2021-22 campaign.
McTavish doubled the Ducks' lead with his first career NHL goal, showing off some of the characteristics that led Anaheim to select him with the third-overall pick in July's NHL draft. Isac Lundestrom and Jakob Silfverberg battled for the puck deep in the Winnipeg zone before it came free in front for McTavish, who won the race to the puck and slipped it over the outstretched pad of Connor Hellebuyck.
"That is the fun part of being a coach," head coach Dallas Eakins said. "An 18-year-old kid comes in and he hangs around long enough to make your roster. He gets a little adversity thrown at him and he has a hell of a night."

Among all NHL players, McTavish is the youngest to score in his debut in five years exactly (Patrik Laine of WPG vs. CAR, Oct. 13, 2016) and the seventh youngest in 25 years (Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, Aleksander Barkov, Rick Nash, Nikita Filatov, Marian Gaborik).
McTavish also became the second youngest player to score within 15 minutes of his NHL debutin over 25 years (Nikita Filatov, Oct. 17, 2008 of CBJ vs. NSH) and the sixth youngest to do so in NHL history.
Lundestrom and Silfverberg assisted on both of Anaheim's first period goals.
Winnipeg cut into the deficit early in the middle frame as Kyle Connor slammed home a one-time feed from Blake Wheeler to pull the Jets within one.
The Ducks converted on their first power play opportunity of the season to restore the two-goal advantage. McTavish kept a loose puck alive in the corner, swatting it to Cam Fowler at the blueline. Fowler made quick work of the pass, snapping a shot off the stick of Henrique and past Hellebuyck to restore Anaheim's two-goal lead. The goal marked Henrique's 400th career NHL point (198-202=400).
The Jets tried to fight their way back in the third, but Gibson was up to the task. Four minutes into the final period, Winnipeg attacked Anaheim's zone on a 3-on-1 rush, but Anaheim's netminder flashed the leather, denying Josh Morrisey with a glove save to maintain the Ducks' edge.
"He was incredible through training camp," Eakins said. "His practice habits are off the charts. His focus is two things, he wants to stop the puck and he wants to win. I believe that second part is highly contagious."
Gibson's save gave Anaheim another chance to extend the lead and this time the Ducks capitalized with another power-play goal. Jamie Drysdale held the puck at the blueline before firing a long shot towards the net that Rakell deftly redirected to secure Anaheim's 4-1 win.
"Last year, we seemed to struggle with, if we're up one, getting that next one and the next one to put the game away," Henrique said. "That's something we need to grow into and be able to do, and we did it tonight."
Drysdale, Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf also collected assists for Anaheim.
Anaheim concludes its season-opening two-game homestand Friday against the Minnesota Wild (7 p.m.).